Keeping with the “brothers” motif, this week we go from The Barr Brothers to The Louvin Brothers, Ira and Charlie. Their 1956 single ‘You’re Running Wild,’ written by Donnie Winters and Ray Edenton, reached #7 on the American country music chart with ‘Cash on the Barrel Head’ as the B-side. It also appeared on their classic album ‘My Baby’s Gone.’ The first video features audio from a live radio performance, and their “blood” harmonies are just as flawless as they are on the original record. The song is a plea and ultimatum to a wayward woman to stop her wild ways and settle down to a nice domestic life: “You’ll settle down someday / And find I’ve gone away / You’ll think of what you’ve done / While running wild.” Considering Ira’s volatile personality, alcoholism, and womanizing, he wasn’t exactly a stranger to the wild life himself.
The song has been covered by many artists over the years, including Beck, who played The Louvin Brothers’ version during an acoustic segment at a few of his concerts in 2006.
